AirAsia Berhad, the Malaysia-based low-cost carrier, has no plan to acquire Korea’s budget airline T’way Air, CEO Tony Fernandes said during a press conference in Seoul on Wednesday.

“There is nothing going on right now,” he said, though he added that he would “never say never.”

Speculation was rising among industry people here that Asia’s largest budget carrier was considering buying the financially struggling T’way through a consortium with Korea’s Cheongju International Airport.

Local airlines, including five budget carriers, had been closely watching the potential buyout.

The CEO, who is also the owner of Queens Park Rangers, the English Premier League club where Korea’s Park Ji-sung plays, was visiting Korea to announce the first route connecting Incheon and Narita by AirAsia Japan.

(jylee@heraldcorp.com)